Pretense
by Yumi-Ulrich4ever
Summary: Pretense: An attempt to make something that is not the case appear true; a false display of feelings, attitudes, or intentions; the practice of inventing imaginary situations. Who knew one game of make-believe would make such a mess? TAITO, MIRA
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So I realize I shouldn't be starting another story, but this idea has been eating away at me, so I had to give it a shot!**

**This is my attempt at something rather cliche with a twist.  
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**This beginning scene takes place during a scene in "A Very Digi Christmas." **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Digimon. This story is for fan purposes only.**

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**Takenouchi, Sora beamed and gingerly hugged her carefully wrapped package to her chest.

The biting cold of December wasn't even enough to cool the warmth of the russet hue that spread across her tan cheeks when she pictured the gift's recipient.

Immersed in her fantasizing, she hardly heard Biyomon say, "Wow, Sora, isn't this cool?"

"Yeah, it is," she idly replied, "people are already lining up for Matt's concert." At least, that's what she assumed they were doing. To be perfectly honest, she hadn't really been paying any thought to anyone but the subject of her daydreams. She had only stopped by on the way to the post office to wish Yamato luck and assure her friend she'd be at the concert later that night. Then she would be off again to mail her precious present in hopes that it got to its receiver quickly.

"Sora, Wait up!" Sora glanced up to see Taichi and Agumon walking towards her.

"Oh, Tai!" Her smile faded before it was really started, the redhead suddenly becoming very conscious about the weight of the package in her arms.

"Something smells good!" Agumon exclaimed.

"Erm….uh huh…it's the cookies…" she held the gift closer, face burning like wildfire, "I made them…for…Yamato, to wish him luck tonight."

Sora tried not to wince as the words came from her lips.

It wasn't _entirely_ a lie. She did come to wish him good luck, but the package wasn't for him.

It was for Mimi.

Sora had spent the whole day in her kitchen trying to perfect the recipe Yamato had given her earlier that week. He promised they were Mimi's favorite, and they were low fat so she wouldn't feel as guilty about eating them on her modeling diet. And besides, it was the holidays.

"Oh, so are you going to the concert with anybody? I mean…not that it matters to me…just wondering."

'Oh no…' She scoured her mind for a response.

"Umm…no, I want to be available in case Matt's free afterwards…"

What on earth was she saying?

"Oh…I see, Matt, huh?"

"Mhm…" The look of raw confusion on Taichi's face was enough to make her want to cry. She just couldn't do it, "Tai, it's…"

The brunette gently placed his hand on her shoulder and offered a weak smile, "It's okay. Now go in there and say hi to Yamato for me, okay?" And with that he nudged her towards the door, and she quickly opened and closed it behind her without looking back, eyes brimming with tears.

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Ishida, Yamato concentrated on strumming chords on his bass, purring memorized words from his lips in hushed tones

"_If you didn't know I'll be here all along, just turn around."_

He broke off from the melody, smiling sadly at the mocking lyrics he had written such a long time ago. He began to strum again, thin, pale digits moving gracefully back and forth between notes.

He was pulled from his thoughts when the door slammed shut.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, he stood and turned to face the unwelcomed visitor, "Look, we already told you no interviews until aft-" he was surprised to see one of the digidestined standing in front of him. "Oh, hello Sora. I wasn't expecting to see you."

And he wasn't. Sora and Yamato had never been the closest; she was always much better friends with Taichi and he with Mimi than with each other. It wasn't until a week or so ago that the two even began to get together one-on-one, and it seemed that was because of a secret they both had looming over their heads…

You see, like Sora, Yamato also had a rather inappropriate fascination with one of his friends. Yamato and Sora had bumped into each other a few days prior in town. Sora asked Yamato for the recipe for Mimi's cookies, to which the blonde gave her a curious glance and asked her what she needed them for. When she could only respond with stuttering, 'Just because' and blushing furiously, Yamato had her figured out in a nanosecond.

"Sora what's the matter?" Yamato hurried over to meet his friend at the door of the backstage room.

She sniffled, "I think I may have just broken Taichi's heart."

The blonde raised an eyebrow in confusion, trying to ignore when his heart skipped a beat at the mention of _his_ name, and led her to a chair, "Here, make yourself comfortable. Now what were you saying about Tai?"

"I lied to him, Matt! I lied right to his face. I told him Mimi's cookies were for you and that I didn't want to go to the concert tonight with him because I wanted to be available for you. I didn't mean to…it just slipped out. I couldn't tell him the truth, but I also couldn't lead him on…it'd only hurt him more," she sighed, "I just panicked."

Yamato stared wistfully down at his hands, "He really likes you, doesn't he?"

The redhead took the musician's pale hand in her mitten-clad one and squeezed it gently. "You really like him, don't you?" she echoed his question, smiling gently.

Yamato glanced up and Sora watched his eyes harden, a reaction to unwanted emotion he had been using since they were younger. She raised her eyebrows and smiled smugly, "Well?"

He rolled his eyes in response and shook his head, "I can't help it. I've been in love with that idiot since we were kids."

"Why don't you tell him then?"

Yamato chuckled lightly, "For the same reason you won't tell Mimi-chan, I suppose. I don't want to lose him…I'd rather just have him as a friend then risk not having him at all," he broke off laughing to himself, "Kami, it sounds jut like one of those stupid romance novels. Besides, he could have any girl in the school; Lord knows they're all willing. Well, except the one girl he actually wants," he eyed her sharply.

"You have quite a fan base of females yourself, Yamato," She pointed out as he rolled his eyes in annoyance: a typical Yamato expression.

"I understand though; Mimi's a model for God's sake. Guys practically throw themselves at her… But sooner or later he's going to find out, you know. At least Mimi's in New York, but Taichi's right here in front of you and with how close you two are and all the rumors going around school that you're…you know… eventually even he'll figure it out. Well, unless…"

"Unless what?" the blonde glanced at her quizzically.

"Yamato…what if we made it look like we were dating? Just for a while? No one would ever know the difference, and we'd be safe from Mimi and Taichi finding out the truth. Plus, that'd give him time to get over me."

Sora watched her comrade's blue eyes ponder the dreadful scheme with mixed emotions.

"I don't know, Sora. Dating the girl your best friend likes, isn't that a bit harsh?" But his gaze was icy again, a tiny smirk pulling at the corners of his pale lips.

She shrugged, "I don't think so. Besides, it's better than the damage his ego will take if he found out the reason I won't date him is because I like a girl," she laughed.

"True, true. He's too in love with you to ever want to be with me anyways," his words were even, but with undertones of hurt even the redhead could read. "What have I got to lose? All right Takenouchi: I'm in."

Those two words were the beginning of a disaster.

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**A/N: Please review and let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Digimon or the characters in it.**

**Also, please be aware that I went off of the beginning scene of 'A Very Digi Christmas', but that is all that is similar. =)  
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**Taichi watched idly as his redheaded friend disappeared through the backstage door. When she was gone, he still remained staring blankly ahead and trying to figure out what on earth had just happened.

Sora and Tai were always together. They both loved sports. They shared a similar sense of humor. Everyone said they were going to get married someday. So how could Sora want to be with _Matt_? It just didn't make sense in his mind. If anything, Yamato belonged with Mimi.

Sora may have the crest of love, but man, did she really mess this one up.

"Taiiiii, it's chilly out here!" Agumon stated, pulling on the sleeve of Taichi's coat and pulling him from his thoughts.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's head home."

. . .

The walk home wasn't enough to distract him from the knot forming in his stomach. To be perfectly honest, he wasn't sure why the idea made him so queasy in the first place. Sure, he may have harbored some feelings for Sora, but it was nothing worth getting worked up over. Maybe it was the idea of him and Sora together and knowing it wasn't going to happen, or perhaps the fact that Taichi Yagami had girls swooning over him all the time, but he couldn't manage to get Sora to follow suit. Or maybe it was simply the idea of his two best friends possibly being a part of something that would distance them from him. Whatever it was, he sure as hell was not enjoying it.

. . .

Sora sat down in the concert hall next to Taichi and murmured a shameful, "hello" which he responded to with a single nod. She could not express her relief when the music started only a moment later, because she had no idea what to say to the brunette.

When the lights went down and the band started to play, Taichi was quickly enthralled by the blond standing center stage. He remembered Yamato always having a gift for music, but he couldn't recall the sound of his voice ever being so brilliant. In fact, he could hardly remember even hearing about his best friend forming a band or writing songs with his guitar or when the first time they performed live was. He began to wonder if maybe his preoccupation with his crush on Sora had kept him from keeping up with Matt's life. He felt a stab of guilt when he couldn't even recollect the last time they had a serious conversation about something.

"Matt's really good, huh?" He leaned over so Sora could understand him above the noise.

"Hmmm? Oh right. Yeah, the Wolves are awesome," she said as if startled from a daydream.

Taichi shot her a questioning glance, but she had already zoned out in a different direction.

'She's not even paying attention to them. I wonder what her deal is; earlier she couldn't wait to see him, and now she's not even listening,' he thought to himself. He observed her a minute more, but then couldn't help but going back to staring straight ahead and getting lost in Yamato's voice once more.

. . .

After the concert had finished, Taichi trudged along after Sora to meet up with the other member of their trio. He wondered bitterly to himself if he could even call them a trio anymore when two of them were now becoming a pair. Not to Tai's surprise, when they found the blond he was surrounded by girls screaming for his autograph. As always, Yamato smiled graciously and effortlessly signed every piece of paper shoved in his face while sincerely thanking each and every person for coming.

While Taichi himself had quite an extraordinary amount of girls chasing him, Yamato had a fan base, male and female, big enough to take over a country. The thought always made his blood boil a little, though he couldn't really place the feeling behind it. It may have been that Yamato didn't seem interested in dating anyone, and yet he still had people all over trying to get with him. But Taichi figured it was probably just because for one reason or another, he really couldn't stand people hanging off of his best friend like that.

After they waited for the crowd to disperse a bit, Tai and Sora made their way over.

"Hi! Great job, Yamato!" Sora smiled and put a hand on the blonde's shoulder. He smiled at her and Tai wanted to ask if Sora even had any idea what songs they had played.

"Hey Matt," He said hesitantly, a previous gnawing in his stomach quickly returning.

Yamato's eyes met his, and for a moment, Taichi thought he saw _something,_ not that he knew what, but something flash across sapphire eyes, but it was quickly gone and replaced with a thankfulness that matched the graceful smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Hey Tai."

The brunette felt inclined, so he leaned forward to hug his friend. He had almost forgotten how delicate Yamato's frame felt in his muscular arms. He noticed the way the blond immediately tensed, but after a moment, hesitantly winded his long arms around Taichi's torso. Only Sora could see the way Yamato's face was flushing feverishly.

When they broke the embrace, Tai grinned sheepishly as his friend and gave him a high five. Yamato offered a small smile in return and thanked both his friends for coming before heading back inside to help clear the stage.

"Can I walk you home?" The brunette asked, turning to Sora.

"Sure, Tai. Thank you," she spoke soflty.

When they reached Sora's apartment complex, Taichi turned to her, "Sora, are you okay? You seemed like you were hardly paying attention at the concert."

She sighed, "Yeah, of course I'm okay. I was paying attention…I just have a lot on my mind."

"Such as?"

She looked at the ground nervously, "I don't know…I was just thinking about Mimi-chan and how I wish she could be here for holiday. It's weird to have the whole gang together without her, y'know?"_ 'I just want to be with her…'_

"Yeah, it is kind of lame that she's so far away. But listen, being a space cadet is my job, and besides, you don't want to make your boyfriend feel neglected do you?" He chuckled half-halfheartedly.

"Tai –"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sora!"

And with that he had vanished into the night.

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**A/N: Please review! Thank you very much!**


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